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BOOK REVIEW: Alexis Henderson’s ‘The Year of the Witching’

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The Year of the Witching

In a year of impressive debut novels from horror authors, Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching rises to the top in more ways than one. The breathtaking, and often terrifying, novel is one that deserves to be savored, though the urge to devour it in one sitting is strong once you’ve begun reading.

Immanuelle Moore has walked between two worlds her entire life. She resides in a village called Bethel, a puritanical world ruled over by the Prophet whose word is absolute Law. Immanuelle’s mother, Miriam, was meant to be one of the Prophet’s many wives, but she fell in love with one of the dark-skinned citizens of the Outskirts. Their relationship ended in tragedy but also brought forth a daughter who has never been fully trusted or accepted due to the sins of her mother and the darkness of her skin.

Bethel is bordered by the Darkwood, a dense forest where, once upon a time, witches who worshiped the Dark Mother were slaughtered. The denizens of Bethel say the Darkwood is cursed, but Immanuelle finds herself drawn into its mysteries.

What follows has to be read to be believed.

A great deal of comparison has gone on since the novel’s announcement with reviewers relating the story to The Handmaid’s TaleThe Witch, and even Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. While those comparisons will no doubt help some readers decide whether they will settle in to read The Year of the Witching. I almost think that it does a disservice to the author’s vision.

Henderson’s writing is a thing of beauty. It is, at once, harrowing and seductive in ways that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, for example, has never quite attained. Where that show chose to broadly sexualize its characters almost by force, Henderson chose to give Immanuelle agency over her sexuality and ties an inherent power to her choices.

Furthermore, her protagonist never stoops to petulance, a quality that often becomes a crutch for authors writing younger women. Immanuelle has a strong mind and ideas that she is determined to see through and with a deadly theocratic ruler breathing down her neck, there is simply no time for tantrums and showboating.

This novel is a gripping work of fiction that deserves a place on every horror reader’s bookshelf. It isn’t only the writing, however, that sets it apart. It is the subject matter itself.

It is troubling that in the year 2020, having a black/biracial woman as a protagonist in a horror novel should feel so revolutionary. It is sad that having a woman protagonist who does not rely upon a male character to save her in a horror novel should feel like a breath of fresh air.

Yet both of these things are true, and because of that, The Year of the Witching often feels like lightning in a bottle. It has an energy that draws the reader in and casts a spell over us and keeps us on the edge of our seat as each new plague falls upon Bethel.

Blood. Blight. Darkness. Slaughter.

These are not just words. They are visceral experiences in Henderson’s capable hands.

If there is one way in which the novel falters, it comes in pacing toward the end. Immanuelle finds herself in several circular arguments with her grandmothers Martha and with Ezra, the handsome chosen heir of the Prophet with a rebellious streak.

While these arguments are certainly necessary to the plot, it felt as though there were times when Henderson was unsure how to end them. This does not hurt the story, but it does feel as though it trips over its own feet here and there.

Despite this, however, The Year of the Witching is an excellent read and a novel that will be on numerous best-of lists at the end of this year.

You can pre-order The Year of the Witching now by CLICKING HERE. The novel will release on July 21, 2020!

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‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

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Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

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Holland House Ent. Announces New Book “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

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Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983’s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the film’s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Holland’s own personal archive – Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the film’s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), I wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the film’s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklin’s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. I’d had no idea he’d written them before he passed in 2007.”

“Reading them,” continues Holland, “was like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.”

“So, step back with me forty years and let’s see how it happened.”

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

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Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

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It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as “better than I am now” and “a lot more energetic.” But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

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